- For Sale For Rent New Homes Only
  Keywords (i.e. granite or hardwood)
  Price: $ to $
- Search for information on a specific Neighborhood, Subdivision, or City.
  Neighborhood: For example: baywinds, ibis, the slade, pga national, boca, delray, wellington view.
- Search for information and listings for a specific Real Estate Agent or Office.
  Agent/Office Name: Or browse all Agents or Offices
- Search for information or listings for a specific Builder.
  Builder Name: Or browse all Builders
- Search for information on a specific school including FCAT scores and state ratings.
  School Name: For example: palm beach central, dreyfoos, grassy waters

## World

# : Tibet protesters flee ID-checking police

  Sunday, March 30th, 2008

BEIJING —

A melee erupted in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa on Saturday afternoon in the midst of hundreds of armed police who have been out in force since deadly rioting rocked the city two weeks ago.

The incident occurred as a 15-member delegation of foreign diplomats was leaving after a tightly scripted two-day tour arranged by the Chinese government to show that the city was under control. The diplomats, including officials from the U.S., Japanese and Australian embassies, apparently did not witness it.

Although details were sketchy, reports indicated that armed police began massing shortly before 2 p.m. to check the identity papers of people in the area where the March 14 riot started, and Tibetans began running away rather than risk arrest. Security forces surrounded residential areas near the Ramoche and Jokhang temples while several hundred Tibetans staged a rally, Radio Free Asia reported, citing unnamed witnesses in Lhasa.

A Lhasa resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said a friend had been shopping at a government store in the area when someone ran in about 2 p.m. saying another riot had begun. The store manager closed the shop doors, fearing a repeat of the chaos and violence of the March 14 riot, which left at least 19 people dead. But the manager was forced to reopen the doors when people demanded to leave.

The woman ran out to the street but could not get a taxi or bus to stop. "Everybody was in a panic," the friend said she told her.

The cellphone signal in the area had apparently been cut off, so the woman ran for nearly an hour to reach her home. She told her friend that she did not see a protest and that the streets were empty.

The Lhasa municipal police sent a text message to residents' cellphones Saturday evening telling them, "Currently the social order in our city is nothing abnormal." The message said that the security department was carrying out identity checks and that the procedures "caused some frightened citizens whose identification (documents) are not clear to run away," according to a translation provided by the International Campaign for Tibet.

Chinese officials in Lhasa and Beijing could not be reached for comment. Tibetan groups outside China said they learned about the melee from sources in Lhasa.

"The incident certainly shows China has not succeeded in creating genuine stability," said Kate Saunders, spokeswoman for the Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet.

Matt Whitticase, a spokesman for the London-based Free Tibet Campaign, said: "We understand that according to an eyewitness, it involved hundreds of Tibetans. It was very quickly put down because there was a heavy police presence in the area. It was a peaceful protest."

The government-in-exile of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, issued a statement from its base in Dharmsala, India, calling the demonstration "massive." "Thousands joined into the protests within no time," it said. "These protests are happening after many days of intense suppression."